Night terrors
by Calusca
Summary: Rick sometimes hides his feelings well. When he fails to deal with a problem, he manages to scare his friends, big time.
1. Chapter 1

The call woke TC about one o'clock in the morning. It had been a hard day's work and he had fallen asleep earlier than he had thought. When he heard the noise, he first had to come to, then he recognized the ringtone.

Rick.

Rick isn't someone calling his friends at night for fun or boredom, so TC knew right away that something had happened. His heart was beating faster already when he accepted the call. But there was no conversation. Rick didn't say a word, but TC still knew his friend was on the other end of the line. He heard him breathing too hard, perhaps in pain.

"Rick?" TC asked anxiously, "Brother, what's up? Are you in trouble? "

Noise TC couldn't place. A clink.

"Rick?" Now more insistent. "What's happening? Talk to me. Are you hurt?" It took an eternity before Rick said a few words. They sounded like they were produced in great agony.

"TC ... I'm scared ... of me ..."

TC sat up, holding the phone in one hand and grabbing his trousers with the other.

"Brother, stay calm, I'm coming to you ... are you at home?"

Long silence.

_"Orville!_"

"Yes."

"Okay, I will not hang up, okay? You can hear me all the time if you want. Don't do anything, _anything_ before I'm there. OK? Bro?"

"...Yeah..."

TC put the phone out of his hand and put on his pants and shoes, grabbing his car keys. He muted Rick for a moment and called Magnum. It rang for a long time, then his friend answered, sleepy but already worried.

"What happened?" He asked without greeting.

"Rick," TC replied. "He called me; he's not okay."

"What happened?" repeated Magnum.

"I don't know. Something bad. "

"Something bad? Is he hurt?"

"Thomas," TC exclaimed. "I've no idea. He hardly said anything, he's completely confused. We ... we have to go to his, now. I still have him in the line; I try to talk to him until one of us is there. "

"You'll make it sooner," Magnum said. TC heard him rumbling in the background. "I'll be there in 20 minutes."

"Okay," TC replied and switched back to Rick. TC talked to his desperate friend all the way, but he didn't know if Rick was listening to him. In the back of his mind, a small voice called how wrong the whole situation was. Rick had never called TC in the middle of the night because he needed something. Never before.

When TC pushed open the door to the apartment, it was all dark. Only the bathroom lights were on. TC made his way through the familiar surroundings; he didn't dare to turn on the light - he had no idea if there might be any intruders in the apartment. He didn't know, he didn't know anything. Rick wasn't in the bathroom. But on the floor were scattered pills, more than 20 maybe. A pool of water and shards. TC got a clearer idea of what had happened here. In the living room he found Rick, sitting against a wall, shaking like a leaf. He didn't look up as TC approached, he didn't respond at all to his arrival. But TC responded. He sank down on the floor next to his friend, hugged him and didn't let go anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That's how Magnum found them. Gun in his hands, he had first been in the enlightened bathroom. When he entered the living room and noticed TC, he dropped the weapon. TC let go of Rick, but put his hand on his shoulder. Magnum dropped to his knees beside them. "What's wrong with him?" TC shook his head. "No idea." "Is he hurt? There's blood. " In fact, TC only now saw bloodstains on Rick's shirt. Magnum switched on a small lamp on a side table and approached Rick. "Rick? Brother? You're hurt, let me see ... " Rick winced when Magnum touched his hand but didn't pull his arm away. Magnum carefully felt the injured tissue. "A deep cut ... but it doesn't bleed anymore." "The glass," TC recalled. "There are broken pieces in the bathroom." Magnum looked at TC for a moment and nodded. Then he turned back to Rick. "Rick?" He asked calmly, laying a hand on Rick's shoulder. "Dude? What's up? What happened?" Rick breathed heavily a few times, then he whispered, "I've taken too many ..." Magnum and TC froze. "Too many?" Asked TC. "Too many of the pills?" "Rick!" Magnum grabbed him by both shoulders. "How many? How many exactly? " Rick shook his head. "Rick!" "I'm ..." Rick trembled all over, "I ... got rid of 'em..." Magnum looked confused, but TC understood. "You puked? Brother? Say it. Please." His friend just nodded. Magnum let go of his friend and sank onto his butt, suddenly powerless. "He has to go to a hospital right now." Rick breathed heavily and TC put an arm protectively around his shoulders. "No ..." Rick's resistance was barely a breath. "It's alright," TC soothed him. "We'll stay with you." "Rick," Magnum began. "In the hospital-" "No." "We're staying here. It's okay," TC told Magnum.

Magnum shook his head disbelievingly. "You can't be serious, TC. That's reckless. " "Our friend called us because he needs us. _Us_. Not a doctor... " "TC!" hissed Magnum. "He OD'd! What if he didn't vomit everything? How do we know for sure?" TC lowered his voice as he said, "In the hospital, he will be declared suicidal. They will lock him up, Thomas. Do you want that for him? Do you really want that? Look at him!" For a moment Magnum studied his trembling friend. Raging thoughts ran through his head. "We'd have to monitor him for at least 36 hours," he then said as if to himself. "Wake him up every half hour, make sure he doesn't fall into a coma." "Yes," said TC simply. "Then we'll do that."

They examined Rick for any more wounds and bandaged his hand. Then they put him to bed and wrapped him in two blankets because he was still shivering. They knew that Rick wasn't cold, but a blanket not only gave warmth but also comfort. TC sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on Rick's back. His friend had melted into the pillows and had closed his eyes, but wasn't asleep. He was way too restless. Only very slowly did the shaking subside.

Magnum cleaned up the bathroom and swept away the blood and the pieces of broken glass Rick had injured himself on. They would have to take a closer look on the injury when Rick had calmed down a bit, which was not the case yet. Magnum checked on his friends, but the situation seemed unchanged. TC kept muttering reassuring words Magnum didn't understand. But it didn't matter what TC said as long as Rick heard that his friend was with him.

Magnum made coffee in the kitchen and had a small accident, too. As a cup broke on the floor, seconds later TC stood in the doorway. He saw Magnum picking up more pieces. "You hurt?" Magnum sighed. "No. How is he?" "No change. Not good." Magnum threw the broken pieces in the bin, then he turned to look at his friend. He took a deep breath. "TC, a suicide attempt, that's serious ..." "It was _not_ a suicide attempt," TC countered. "He just overreacted. He's exhausted, everything was too much. He needs us now. " Magnum looked at TC for a long time, then nodded. "Should I call Higgins?" TC hesitated. "Not yet," he said. "What kind of pills?" "Pain medication," Magnum said. "Not too powerful, but 30 of them can be very dangerous." TC shook his head. "He didn't take 30. And he vomited. " "You don't know that for sure, TC." TC stared at him for a moment. "We shouldn't leave him alone for so long," he said and left. 


	3. Chapter 3

The night passed into the morning and Rick calmed down.

He fell asleep at dawn and although TC and Magnum woke him up regularly to check his condition, he seemed more stable every hour. His friends were slowly beginning to hope. They let Rick sleep through the afternoon because they thought he needed the rest. Magnum couldn't get TC's words out of his head. Why was Rick so exhausted that he took such desperate measures? What hadn't Magnum seen?

Rick was apathetic for long stretches, then lucid again, then he slept again for a while, mostly restlessly. Another day passed and slowly, very slowly, Rick became calmer.

Magnum could see how much the situation gnawed at TC. Old memories of the Korengal awoke. At that time, they were often ill or came out of solitary confinement injured and tortured. The conditions of detention had not been designed for the survival of the prisoners, there was often a lack of water and food, and medication was rare. Nevertheless, and because they had taken care of each other, they had all survived. Magnum thought about whether Rick's actions were a late response to the long detention, but he couldn't ask Rick yet. He asked TC.

His friend pondered for a long time and Magnum thought he would get no answer when TC finally said, "Probably ... fairly likely, even."

"And the acute trigger?" Magnum asked. They were in the kitchen, sitting at the table and each of them was holding a coffee mug.

TC said nothing.

"Did I miss something?"Magnum asked. "Are you hiding something from me?"

TC shook his head.

"I don't know more than you," he said. "The work became more and more, the days longer. He is chronically tired and often has a headache. Then there was trouble with some authorities, a threat from a wicked neighbor- "

"Why don't I know about it?" Magnum skipped in.

TC raised his hands apologetically. "He didn't tell me. Someone from the staff gave it to me. "

"Why doesn't he talk to us when something's bothering him?"Magnum asked in consternation. "Why is he keeping it to himself for so long that ... something like this happens?"

TC sighed.

"I don't know."

"It's not like him."

"No," TC admitted, "really not. But he has to recover first before we can knock some sense into him. "

"And we will," said Magnum.

TC nodded.

"We will."


	4. Chapter 4

Day four was a better day than the days before.

Rick seemed more relaxed, slept a lot, but was increasingly responsive during the waking phases. He looked dull and weak, but there was a little more life in his eyes. In the evening, Magnum sat on the edge of his bed and held out a mug to his friend. Rick got up a bit and took it. TC positioned himself nearby in the background.

"Coffee," said Magnum when Rick glanced into the container. "We thought you might need some."

Rick shrugged and took a sip.

"How are you?" his friend asked.

"What's that going to be?" Rick asked, alarmed.

Magnum exchanged a look with TC, who nodded.

"We wanna talk to you," Magnum said. "About what happened."

He paused.

"If you want it, too. We're worried."

Rick sighed and looked down, staring at his coffee for a long time. His friends waited patiently.

"I had a headache," Rick finally said softly. "All day long and nothing helped. In the evening I was really spent and then ... " He broke off, his hands trembled. Magnum put his hand on Rick's arm in a gesture of support.

"I don't remember what happened then," Rick admitted, looking up and directly in his friend's worried eyes. "But suddenly I was in the bathroom and swallowed pain pills ... first two, then more ... then even more ... I _hate_ pills ..."

"How many in total?" TC asked hoarsely.

Rick shrugged.

"Fifteen? Twenty? "He took a deep breath. "I don't know ... how long I've stood there. But ... then the glass fell out of my hand, I picked up a shard and the next time I looked there was all the blood. "

He broke off, closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

"Then I realized what I'd done ..."

"And you vomited the pills again," said Magnum.

His friend nodded.

"That was very dangerous." TC came closer and sat down in an armchair next to the bed. "You could've suffocated."

Rick looked up.

"I shouldn't have done any of that."

"How long have you had these headaches?" Magnum asked.

Rick shook his head.

"Don't know."

"Since the problems started at La Mariana?"

Rick looked at Magnum.

"Maybe, yeah."

"OK."

Magnum exchanged glances with TC, then sighed.

"We want you to see a doctor, today. We're concerned that there may be long-term health consequences. We don't know if you got rid of all that stuff. "

Rick looked at him steadily.

"Thomas, if not, we wouldn't have this conversation right now."

Magnum nodded.

"However, some complications can appear later and become very painful or life-threatening. We appeal to your common sense, but we don't ask you. "

Rick looked at him in confusion.

"If you don't do it voluntarily, we'll take you to the hospital and check you in as a suicide candidate."

Magnum didn't like what he was doing, but it had to be. He and TC had had a long discussion last night, researched the web, and became more and more afraid with every article they read. The effects of what Rick had done could also be hazardous to health.

Rick sighed.

"All right. I'll do it if you want me to. "

Magnum reached for Rick's hand to get his attention. Rick looked at him.

"Why didn't you talk to us? We'd have been there for you, anytime. You know that!"

Rick broke eye contact and shook his head.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I just wanted to get rid of that headache."


	5. Chapter 5

Rick was brave.

Soon after the incident, he started working again, but he was quieter than before and smiled less. If necessary, he could play the host of La Mariana, but it was difficult and took a lot of effort. TC and Magnum now often ended their working days at La Mariana to check on him.

He assured them that he was fine, but he wasn't a very good liar.

* * *

Very, VERY early in the morning of one of the following days, a message arrived. Rick was woken by the ping of his phone. Half-awake, he grabbed the device and checked first for the time – 5.20 in the morning – than the message itself.

It came from TC and read:

"_Swell's good. Wanna surf?"_

With a sigh, Rick collapsed on the bed again. He was so damn tired, he couldn't imagine to get on a board right now. But he hadn't been surfing with TC in ages and so he texted back:

"_Sure."_

The answer didn't take long:

"_Pick you up in 20."_

Rick put the phone on the nightstand. He closed his eyes again, but he knew if he would take any longer, he'll go back to sleep, so he got up in search for his boardshorts.

* * *

"Look at it", TC said.

Rick did.

TC had been right about the conditions: the swell looked good, even more: promising. He sighed, so TC casted a glance in his direction.

"You okay?"

Rick nodded, not looking at his friend.

"Headache again?"

"I'm fine, TC", Rick said patiently.

"Just askin'." TC shrugged. "Don't wanna let you out there, if you're not fit enough to ride the waves."

"I would say so", Rick emphasized, but TC didn't look convinced.

It was a beautiful morning with water so soft and warm that Rick started to relax the second his hands touched the water.

While TC and he were paddeling the 300 yards to the waves, he took in the scene. The sun was rising and only a handful of people surfed the spot at this ungodly hour. But the time was perfect.

Rick felt better every minute, the headache he had suffered when the text woke him reduced to a minimum. He looked over at TC and saw the big man grinning at him. He held a thumbs-up and Rick returned the gesture.

Life was good.

Or would be again.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


End file.
